Waycross will seek to revive participation in the Georgia MainStreet program with last week’s approval by the city commission of two resolutions toward that goal.
One MainStreet measure supported establishing the program and the second approved the steps to determine the composition of its board and a part-time person to be the organization’s director. Each passed on a 4-1 vote during the commission’s bimonthly meeting Tuesday, September 1 in City Hall.
Commissioner William Tompkins cast the dissenting vote to both. He said he wasn’t against reviving the group, but would like more conversation on the subject with similar organizations dedicated to advancing the city’s downtown area included before a decision is made.
Tompkins expressed the same concern the day before at the commission’s planning and information session when Business Integration & Information Systems Director Patrick Simmons spoke about the city reviving the organization.
The city’s MainStreet organization last was active in 2018, said Mayor Michael-Angelo James, who added he had served as president of the organization on two occasions.
Simmons, a member of the Waycross Convention and Visitors Bureau, sought consensus for the Main Street resolutions to be on the Tuesday agenda after detailing the program. That’s when Tompkins first expressed his view, and after discussion, was the only commissioner to vote against agenda inclusion.
He said he saw the potential for a duplication of services with other organizations if their representatives weren’t included in discussions on a revival. Among those would be the Downtown Waycross Development Authority, Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Merchants Association and CVB.
“I don’t see where another organization (like MainStreet) will help our problems (downtown),” Tompkins said, adding a concern for funding. “Not that it’s a bad program ... It’s too soon for this. We really need to focus on other things.”
Simmons said MainStreet program’s are funded totally by tourism dollars. He also Main Street would give the city additional access to grants other entities, such as DWDA are not eligible to secure.
Simmons also pointed to Main Street being able to work in tandem with the other organizations, like those who stage Swampfest, the Christmas festival and parade, and the downtown activity at Halloween. He said one goal of a new Main Street group could be staging a fall version of April’s Swampfest.
District 2 Commissioner William Simmons said MainStreet and the DWDA had a productive working relationship in the past.
At the September 1 meeting, Tompkins sought to have the resolutions removed from the agenda with a motion when Mayor James called for commissioners to approve the agenda as presented. The motion received no second.
The first resolution has the city in support of establishing the program “in order to maintain an economically healthy, vital and vibrant downtown area for citizens, visitors and tourists while focusing on the revitalization and economic re-development of its historic commercial core.”
It’s companion measure established the advisory board, its composition, method of appointment and terms of office. It would be administered by the city’s division headed by Patrick Simmons, the resolution said.
After the resolutions were approved, Tompkins reiterated he wasn’t against the program’s revival, just its timing and the lack of input from others before a final decision.
He posted on Facebook a detailed explanation for his stance. It said in part, “ ... I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding about where I stand. My vote was not a vote against Main Street, downtown development, or investing in downtown Waycross. My concern is with the process and making sure our community partners have a meaningful seat at the table. ...”
District 5 Commissioner Alvin Nelson also went to Facebook after the vote to offer some history on the statewide MainStreet program and to explain his vote in favor of revival. He said Waycross was one of the original five pilot communities when the program began in 1980.
Nelson said there now are 101 MainStreet communities in Georgia. He also said each works alongside a separate downtown development authority.
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